Members Of White Supremacist Group Sentenced To Prison For Hate Crime Assault In Sayreville

TRENTON – Two members of the “Aryan Terror Brigade” white supremacist group were sentenced to prison today for their roles in the New Year’s Eve 2011 hate crime assault of two Middle Eastern men in Sayreville,, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano sentenced Michal Gunar, 29, of East Windsor, to 33 months in prison. Gunar previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault, as well as the actual commission of a hate crime assault, in violation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Pisano sentenced Kyle Powell, 24, of West Collingswood, to 15 months in prison. Powell previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit a hate crime assault.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in Trenton federal court:

Gunar admitted attended a New Year’s Eve “meet and greet” white supremacist event at a residence in East Brunswick on Dec. 31, 2011. That night, Gunar, Powell and Christopher Ising, 31, of Waretown, drove to an apartment complex in Sayreville with the express purpose of assaulting random, non-Caucasian individuals. Gunar brandished a knife and attacked two Middle Eastern men, shouting anti-Arab slurs. At his guilty plea proceeding, Gunar admitted he assaulted at least one man by pulling the individual out of a parked car and punching the man about the face and head, causing physical injury.

Ising, a purported member of a white supremacist group known as the “Atlantic City Skins,” previously entered a guilty plea on both counts of the same indictment and charges as Gunar. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 9.

In addition to the prison terms, Pisano sentenced Gunar and Powell to serve three years of supervised release.

Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford; special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Mottola, Criminal Investigations, Newark Field Office; and detectives from the N.J. State Attorney General’s Office, under the direction of Acting Attorney General John Jay Hoffman, with the investigation.